Potentials - May/June 2017 - 24

It is interesting to note that things related to work
such as as salary and your personal life are not
high on the scale of motivational needs in
either Maslow's or Herzberg's list.

The young engineer thought about it
for a few minutes and then caused all
of us to break into laughter with his
comment, "I don't think I asked for
enough money!" My point was made.

self-satisfaction and
recognition
During an annual performance
review, we had a discussion about his
career and the lack of advancement on
his part. From my perspective, he just
didn't seem to be excited with a career
as a programmer. He admitted that it
wasn't his first choice, but it paid well!
I suggested that he needed to reflect
on what he wanted to do to be happier
in his chosen field. I was surprised
the next day when he submitted his
letter of resignation. However, in his
letter, he explained that he had al-
ways wanted to be a priest, but the
pay for programming was better. In
talking to him, he said that he had al-
ready contacted a monastery and had
been accepted into the order. I wished
him well on his new adventure.
The second case involved a young
engineer who demonstrated all of
the tools you could wish to have in
one of your staff members. He was
an excellent team member/leader,
tackled all assignments with dili-
gence, and was always ready to lend
a hand or a suggestion when asked.
In short, he had a bright future
ahead of him.

In a department meeting, we
were discussed motivation and what
entailed ensuring that people were
always motivated to do a better job.
I noted that Herzberg and Maslow
had both found that salary was not
a motivator, but could be a demoti-
vator in some cases. The young engi-
neer raised his hand and comment-
ed, "Given enough money, I wouldn't
care what the job was. I would be
happy." I asked him what he thought
would be enough money, regardless
of the job. He thought about it for a
few moments and said, "$250,000
per year would be sufficient."
I told him that I would describe
a job for him and see if it met his
expectations. The job would be an
8-to-5 job. He would report to work
in standard dress (blue/black suit,
white shirt, sincere tie, wingtip
shoes). He would be assigned to the
men's restroom and immediately
clean all of the facilities in the room.
He would then wait for someone to
use the room, and then, again, clean
it. That would be his job each day,
eight hours per day, five days a week.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Herzberg's Model

Self-Actualization and
Fulfillment

Fulfillment of the Work Itself

Advancement,
Recognition, and Status

Esteem and Status
Belonging and
Social Activity

Supervision and Relationships

Safety and Security

Company Policy, Job Security,
and Working Conditions

Physiological
Needs

Hierarchial Progression of Needs

Salary and Personal Life

Fig1 maslow and herzberg satisfaction models (source - Wikipedia).

24

■

May/June 2017

IEEE PotEntIals

As one moves upward on the two
models, it becomes more evident
that the realization of satisfaction
for individuals is more through the
self-satisfaction that one derives
with the work itself and the recogni-
tion such work can provide. Again,
the lack of satisfaction at any level
can become a demotivator for the
person involved.
Beyond salary and personal life,
the next level is concerned with
corporate-controlled areas of your
career: policies, job security, and
working conditions. If job security is
not present, a person will not be as
productive as wished; in fact, he or
she may be looking elsewhere for
a job that does provide greater se-
curity. Similarly, if corporate poli-
cies are highly restrictive in terms
of job freedom, personnel move-
m e nt , or simila r practices, they
may provide a de-motivator in your
chosen career. Finally, supervisors
and team relationships may suf-
fer in many corporations, creating
another de-motivating level for em-
ployee dissatisfaction.
The self-actualization areas of
job satisfaction can be found at
the top of the Maslow and Herz-
berg pyramids, and they include
advancement, recognition, status,
and the content of the work itself.
These final needs are most often driv-
en by the individual, as each person
must understand what it is he or she
wishes for in a career and the probabil-
ity of achieving those goals in his or her
current job.

Early fulfillment
There have been a number of stud-
ies that show that student engineers
need fulfillment as early as their
freshman year of college. Students
have been surveyed to gain under-
standing of their desires for success
in engineering, and their belief that



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